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Ortiz likely to return after Twins series

Ortiz likely to return after Twins series

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David Ortiz

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BOSTON -- David Ortiz took the next step in his recovery from a strained right Achilles tendon when he did agility drills on the field at Fenway Park on Thursday, but the slugger is still a few days away from being activated.

Ortiz did some light jogging, shuffling and stretching in right field before the series opener against the Twins. He still needs to do more strenuous power running drills before the Red Sox will be comfortable activating him from the 15-day disabled list, though.

"I would say I'm around 50 to 60 percent right now," Ortiz said Thursday afternoon. "And the doctors and trainers say I'm not going to be 100 percent when I come back to play, but when we start doing the power drills and once I start feeling better, I think I will be ready to go."

Ortiz won't start the power running drills for at least three to four days. That would likely put his return date after the weekend.

"It all depends on how I feel and if I can handle it for a couple of days, they might give me the green light," Ortiz said. "But, we got to get there first. We got to wait to see how it feels [Friday], because as you add different drills you either get sore or you start loosening up."

Still, the designated hitter is improving on a daily basis. Of course, he won't know how his injured right foot responds to Thursday's increased workload until Friday.

"After I work out and do different things, the following day I feel a little sore," said Ortiz, who suffered the injury July 17. "But it's part of the process from what [the trainers] said. [Wednesday] when I came in, I felt really good and then we took the treatment to another level and today I came in a little sore."

Ortiz said he wanted to return Wednesday, the first day he was eligible, but will be cautious to avoid any lingering effects from the injury.

"I got to get better, though, because I don't want to have any setbacks," he said. "This is something that is not a game. I was playing with soreness before I got into the situation. Once I shut it down, I started learning about that injury and I figured that it's an injury that can put you out for a long time if you don't take care of it. So, I'm trying to get to the point where there are no risks."